Monday, December 26, 2011

Most Disappointing Players in Chicago Bears History

     Several hours ago I did my Most Disappointing Players in Chicago Bulls History post, now here I am with the one for the Bears.  Yesterday, the emBEARrassments got shellacked by the Packers and eliminated from the playoffs.  It's been a pretty awful past couple weeks for a team on the brink of getting into the playoffs, that is, until Jay Cutler & Matt Forte both got hurt.  Anywho, this list isn't just about this year, it includes all of the Bears over the years who have made all of us Chicago fans just plain sick.  Chicago will always be a Bears town, plain and simple, so these names I provide to you will forever live in infamy here in the Windy City...but not for good reasons...


10 - John Thierry
When you draft a defensive end 11th overall, like the Bears did with Thierry in the 1994 draft, you expect big things out of the guy.  What the Bears got, was a bust.  The guy never lived up to any of the hype he garnered with the Bears as he barely made a dent in any games he played.  Very little sacks and he didn't even start that many games for the Bears.  It's not entirely his fault, he was placed in an extremely unfamiliar situation.  Thierry was a linebacker for a 1-AA school and the Bears took him 11th overall to play in the NFL as a defensive end.  Needless to say, that didn't pan out.  He was gone after the 1998 season

9 - Rashaan Salaam
Here's an example of a player that teased the Bears faithful by having a pretty solid rookie year, but then fizzling out after.  He had 1,000 yards rushing in his first year with the Bears as he managed to live up to his huge college hype.  Salaam rushed for over 2,000 yards for Colorado in his junior year and won the Heisman Trophy.  The fact that the Bears were able to get him 21st overall in the 1995 draft seemed like a steal.  After his rookie year, however, things went downhill.  He was unable to hold onto the ball, fumbling it quite often and he broke his leg, causing him to be released by the Bears after the 1997 season.  Salaam pretty much disappeared after that, only playing in a handful of games with other teams and even having a stint in the failed football league ran by the WWF, the XFL.


8 - David Terrell
The Bears have an awful history of both quarterbacks and wide receivers.  David Terrell is just another case of a wide receiver who couldn't live up to his promise. Drafted 8th overall in the first round of the 2001 NFL draft, Terrell was supposed to be the wide receiver of the future for a team desperately looking for a guy to throw the ball to.  He had no consistency at all, often times having a good game once every month or so.  He dropped passes, didn't know playbooks, committed stupid penalties, and had a bad attitude during his tenure in Chicago, one that ended in 2004 when he was released by the team.  What hurts more are the players the Bears passed on to get this bust.  Guys like Santana Moss, Chad Ochocinco, & Reggie Wayne were all available, but the Bears chose Terrell instead.

7 - Caleb Hanie
I hate that I have to include Caleb Hanie in this list.  Not so much because I like the guy, more so because he had to play because of the Bears franchise quarterback, Jay Cutler, getting injured during the 2011 season.  Hanie was thrust into the starting role in week 12 after Cutler injured himself against the San Diego Chargers in week 11.  Some people weren't completely panicking, because Cutler got hurt in the NFC Championship in last season's playoffs and Hanie showed a little promise (although he did throw the pick that ended the Bears season, which should have been an omen to all Bears fans) But no one could have predicted just how terrible Hanie would be.  He made Todd Collins look like a legitimate quarterback in the NFL with his play.  In his first NFL start, against the Oakland Raiders, Hanie threw 3 interceptions, including a pick 6 in the red zone just before halftime.  He followed that performance up by throwing 3 more interceptions to the lowly Kansas City Chiefs.  He has since lost his job to Josh McCown, a guy who hadn't started a game since 2007.  He'll be a free agent this offseason and there's a pretty decent chance we've seen the last of Caleb Hanie in the NFL.

6 - Roy Williams
Did you know?  Roy Williams, the Bears supposed number 1 wide receiver for the 2011 season, has just as many touchdowns this season going into the final week as offensive lineman Edwin Williams.  I feel like that statement should be more than enough of a write-up documenting Williams pathetic season with the Bears.  He has only caught 33 catches this year for less than 500 yards.  He was released by the Cowboys for a reason, but the Bears took a chance on him anyway.  He's been terrible and luckily, only signed a 1 year contract.  Look for him to further his disappointing NFL career elsewhere, that is, if anyone is dumb enough to sign him.

5 - Rick Mirer
It makes sense that the word "mired" means to be stuck in mud.  That seems to be a pretty perfect metaphor for Rick Mirer and his career.  Mirer was traded to the Bears in February of 1997 for a 1st round draft pick, he was supposed to be the Bears quarterback going forward.  He signed a 3 year contract worth $11.4 million.  So how long did his tenure in Chicago last?  All of one season, where he barely played.  The Bears went ahead and cut Mirer in the beginning of the 1998 season and he goes down as one of the worst decisions made by the Bears.

4 - Michael Haynes
The 2003 NFL draft brought in defensive lineman, Michael Haynes, with the 14th overall pick.  Haynes was coming off a monster year in college at Penn State University where he grabbed 15 sacks in his final year.  The only problem was that for his first 3 years at Penn State, he didn't do much of anything.  He was a one year wonder that the Bears trusted and he disappointed greatly.  He went from defensive end to defensive tackle but nothing stuck.  He didn't make any substantial impact and was unable to grab the starting spot.  Worse yet, in that very same draft, Troy Polamalu was taken after Haynes and the Bears were reportedly interested in bringing in the eventual Defensive Player of the Year.  After the 2005 season, he was traded to the New Orleans Saints and was gone from the NFL by 2007.

3 - Curtis Enis
Yet another Chicago Bears bust out of Penn State.  Enis was drafted 5h overall in the 1998 draft and was largely seen as a good pick for the Bears.  How's this for a rookie trying to make a good impact with his new team?  He held out of training camp for more money and went ahead and tore his ACL in his 9th game, cutting his rookie year short.  By 2000, he was already gone from the Bears and looking to make a comeback for other teams.  Enis was a bit of a knucklehead, giving a whole new meaning to an NFL player with personality issues.  Like with Michael Haynes & Troy Polamalu, the Bears really kicked themselves in the ass with this pick, seeing as they passed on Randy Moss for Enis.  

2 - Cedric Benson
There are so many bad memories when it comes to Cedric Benson and the Bears.  The Bears drafted him 4th overall in the 2005 draft, thus making their current running back, Thomas Jones, expendable.  Like another first round running back chosen by the Bears, Curtis Enis, Benson held out of training camp for a bigger contract, which he didn't remotely live up to.  He ended up signing for 5 years and $35 million and was immediately disliked by his teammates for his selfish and immature attitude.  So we got bad attitude covered, how about some injuries?  He sprained his MCL which caused him to miss a chunk of games his rookie year and then the following year he injured his shoulder, causing him to lose out to Thomas Jones as the starter.  More attitude problems surfaced as he complained about playing time.  In Superbowl XLI, Benson injured his knee and missed the majority of the game.  The following season, the Bears traded Jones and Benson was given the starting job.  He played well, but injured his ankle and missed the majority of the season.  The Bears had enough and in 2008, after being arrested for the 2nd time in 5 weeks and released him.  Benson has gone on to bounce back for the Cincinnati Bengals, but Bears fans remember him as an injury prone joke of a person with an awful attitude.

1 - Cade McNown
Can you say one of the worst quarterbacks in Chicago Bears history?  That's really saying something when you look at the group of degenerates who took snaps under center for the Bears.  McNown was drafted 12th overall in the 1999 draft.  McNown held out for part of training camp due to contact negotiations and lost his potential starting job to Shane Matthews.  McNown was put in an an extremely controversial and unusual situation, seeing as the Bears head coach, Dick Jauron had named Matthews as the starter, but had McNown play a series as quarterback every game.  He had an inauspicious start to his NFL career his rookie year and lost his starting job to Jim Miller.  Miller was eventually suspended and McNown was given the job back and he finished his roller coaster rookie year.  In his 2nd year, he led the Bears to a 1-6 record and was ultimately injured and benched.  During the 2001 season, the Bears traded McNown to the Miami Dolphins and eventually disappeared from the NFL without ever having any sort of success.

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